Sun Browned Moon
by MockeyRock93
Summary: Kankurou and f/n have one thing in common. They hate/love each other. What happens when a mission to Konoha turns their friendship inot something more? Will their feelings be ignored or will they be acknoledged? Reader Insert Kankurou x Reader
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Hey lil bro! You need me?" came the question from an overactive kitty-cat shinobi. Gaara looked towards the doorway of his rather large office to find his perverted older brother, Kankurou, smiling stupidly at him. "When on the job" he began, as he returned to his paperwork "You are to address me as Kazekage-sama" Kankurou waved him off before starting his ranting once again.

"Kazekage or no Kazekage, you're my little brother and you can't change that!" normally Gaara would have his head for this; but , thankfully, ever since his first encounter with the nine-tailed host, Uzumaki Naruto, and his fight with the Akatsuki; Gaara had changed. He became more tolerant, and so didn't kill or threaten people as often; all in all one could call the ex- Jinchuuriki kind. Even if he still had the same clam, uncaring air around him and was not much of a talker.

Their argument continued, mostly one sided, till the heavy oak doors of the Kazekage's office closed with a loud 'thump'; informing them of an audience. Kankurou turned from were he stood on the slippery floor to see a young girl no older than he was. Her beige ninja pants hung low on her slender hips, held up by her sand headband. Her matching jonin jacket was open to reveal a sleeveless, white belly shirt which contrasted beautifully against her sun browned skin.

She raised a slender brown eyebrow towards Kankurou's direction before setting her gaze on the red head. "You called, Kazekage-sama?" she said with a small bow. "You took long to get here (l/n)" Kankurou smirked in triumph "Yeah; we've been waiting for a while now." The kunoichi send a glare in the direction of the oversized cat before returning her piercing chestnut eyes on the Kazekage. "I apologize my lord Kage; I had some unfinished business to attend to that required my immediate attention.

Gaara only 'hn' and returned to the current paperwork while addressing them. "You have a mission" he was interrupted by a rude older brother "That's kinda obious Gaara" said boy send a glare in his brothers direction before continuing. "You are to escort a high lord to Konoha. Take him straight to the Hokage upon arriving. His daughter, the reason to the sudden trip, is to wed a noble over there. It's to not only tie together the two families; but with the union of to the houses the strength between Konohagakure and Sunagakure will also increases. No harm is to come to them. This envelop contains any details I might've missed. You're dismissed" Both (f/n) and Kankurou gave a small bow before departing from the Kazekage's office.

"Well" started Kankurou "It seems we have yet another mission together (f/n)-chan! It seems the fates are telling us something" He eyed her form. She only gave him a wide smirk and flipped her chocolate brown hair out of her face. "Or that the Kazekage has realized that no one dies under my watch. You, my dear Kankurou, are merely here as a sidekick." Kankurou frowned slightly before adorning a smirk of his own. "No, I think it's the fates"

She sighed and started walking away form the grinning cat, as if suddenly becoming bored with the exchange of witty banter. Kankurou raced after her as they made their way to the village gates to wait for the high lord and his daughter; already having predicted a mission both had come prepared. "Ah come on (f/n)-chan, you know you love me" again said girl decided to ignore her current partner and continued the short walk to the gates.

They did not have to wait long before a small carriage pulled by ox's stopped next to them. "Are you the body guards the Kazekage send?" Asked an old man in wealthy clothes. They gave him a small bow and introduced themselves. "I see, well my name is Chyoyi-sama and this is my daughter Karine" a rather shot girl stepped out of the carriage. She was pale with long platinum blonde hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She wore a brown traveling dress that showed off her curves and reached to just above her knees. Her small hands were placed left-over-right on top of her midriff and her face wore no expression.

She was a beauty no doubt; but it was her eyes that were ugly. They where a beautiful sky blue, the reason they were so ugly was the shallowness of them. It felt that if you tried to dive in not even a hair would be thoroughly submerged. "I don't like them" she stated to her father as both ninja's faces turned to shock. "Excuse me?" said the browned haired kunoichi. The blonde ignored her and addressed her father once more. "The man is a cat and the other is a girl. Are ninja's not supposed to be handsome and kind looking men?" (F/n) practically flew towards the girls neck, she would have reached her destination too if it hand not been for a pair of strong arms holding her back.

The girl sneered at her as she fought against Kankurou's death grip. The father gave an apologetic glance towards the two before looking at his daughter. "Karine, these are two of the best ninja's in Sunagakure. The Kazekage himself asked specially of them to escort us towards Konohagakure." Her faze turned red in anger as she addressed her father ignoring the two only further. "And why could the Kazekage not come himself? Am I not important enough? Surely one such as handsome as him would feel honored to escort me."

(F/n) has to bite her lower lip in under to contain several insults. The father's expression turns to panic. "But daughter, you are to be married! The Kazekage did not come himself because he knew he could not have you." Both (f/n) and Kankurou snorted at the comment and nearby guards were trying hard not to laugh. The girl, being as vein, and naïve, as she was, took her father's words to heart "I see you are correct. Still I do not like them" she pointed a perfectly manicured fingernail towards them and climbed back into the carriage, shutting the door behind her.

The tired man turned to the shinobi and gave them a deep bow. "I am truly sorry for my daughter's attitude. She has been like this ever since her mother died." Kankurou gave him a wave as if telling him there was no need to be modest. "Sure, blame the dead mom" muttered (f/n) before elbowing Kankurou in the ribs so that he'd let go of her. Upon being freed she started walking towards the front of the carriage, near the oxen. She turned slightly to the man. "Are we going or not?" she said.

Kankurou gave a stiff nod and walked to the end of the carriage still holding his stomach while the High lord Chyoyi mounted the carriage. The first day went fairly well, the only problem being a broken wheel which was quickly replaced. The young shinobi did not catch another glance at the obnoxious girl till they settled down in an inn for the night. And then they only saw the ends of her sun blonde hair as she stumped towards her room.

"I hate her" stated (f/n) as she and Kankurou settled in their room which was between the High lord and the girl. Kankurou shrugged "Well at least she has looks right?" he said off handedly "Yeah, with no brain" replied (f/n). Again, Kankurou shrugged and motioned for her to go to sleep since he would be taking the first watch.

"It's hot!" they heard a shrill voice scream form in side the carriage. The group was well into its second day of travel, the sun high in the sky creating an almost unbearable heat. They traveled slowly, the carriage slowing down their trek, but would soon quicken their pace knowing that in a few hours time they would enter the forest where the Land of Fire began.

The shinobi exchanged a glance but the driver looked at peace. "Does she not annoy you?" asked (f/n). The driver her gave her a kind smile and shook his head. "I've been with them since Karine was a child" The kunoichi gave him a sympathetic smile to which the driver chuckled and thanked her for. After all, the shinobi only had to deal with her three, four days while the poor driver has had to deal with the brat all his life. "Actually, she's quite calm right now" He laughed at the shocked expressions on the shinobi's face and returned his gaze to the endless sand ahead.

There was a sudden change in the air as the woods of the Land of Fire were seen far away. The carriage stopped suddenly, making the carriage jerk violently. Up ahead stood two men, both dressed completely in black and hiding their faces with silver masks. "Who the hell?" said Kankurou as he traveled the length of the carriage to stand at the front with (f/n).

"Ninja's" came (f/n)'s reply to his unasked question "Strong one's" she concluded after taking a look at their chakra. A smirk covered her features "But not strong enough to cause us any trouble" At hearing this Kankurou also smirked. (F/n) had a gift for seeing other's chakra; she could easily tell their strength and element.

The high lord poked his head out of the carriage window "Why the sudden stop?" he asked. Kankurou replied over his shoulder something that was lost in the wind as one of the two shinobi disappeared from sight. Alarm took over (f/n) features as she took her position besides the carriage, ready for battle. Kankurou followed suit, mimicking her movements on the other side of the carriage.

"Do not leave the carriage until further notice" said the sun browned kunoichi as she held a kunai in her left hand. The wind shifted again and the unaccounted ninja jumped out of the sand launching straight for Kankurou. A smirk covered Kankurou's features as he calmly reached behind him for one of his scrolls. Just as the unwelcome visitor reached Kankurou the said shinobi ran a bloody finger down the scrolls figures.

The mysteries shinobi was caught in Kuroari's chest as its partner Karasu plunged its blades into the shinobi, successfully killing him. The cat's victory didn't last long as the air once again shifted brining the smell of burning paper with it. (F/n) back flipped onto the roof of the vehicle to find an explosive tag attached to its top. In the blink of an eye she jumped back down, opened the door, and dragged Chyoyi out of said carriage; while Kankurou, having also smelled the smoke, mimicked (f/n) and grabbed hold of a startled Karine.

They ran with the driver and the freed oxen on their heels as far away from the vehicle as they could get before collapsing into the hot, yellow sand and covering their faces. A 'boom' was heard as wood flew everywhere. Karine could do nothing but stare at the remains of her favorite form of transportation. Her mouth moved as if trying to form words that would not come. The High lord was the first to recover from the three passengers. "What now?" he asked, his eyes still filled with surprise. "Now" said the brown hair kunoichi "We walk"

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters. Just this plot and the made up stuff**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I'm tired, I'm hungry, and she has split ends!" Once again a pair of strong arms wrapped around the waist of the flaming kunoichi; stopping her from hurting the smirking brat. (F/n) growled in frustration and surrendered to the restrain, telling her captor that she would not hurt the mission. The young puppet master let go of the brown haired girl and was soon thrown to the ground by the weight of another.

"Kankurou did you see? She tried to hurt my beautiful face! Oh she's horrible; but you'll protect me right?" said girl snuggled into the chest of the cat boy and the latter could do nothing but grin stupidly at nothing in particular. He turned his gaze to look up at the chakra seer and his grin quickly vanished at the darkness of her glare. (F/n) turned her back to him and started walking away with a nervous Chyoyi following her every step.

Kankurou gently pushed off the blond that lay on his chest and followed after (f/n) throwing excuses about how it wasn't his fault as she casually ignored him. They had requested that the driver, Reginori, and the oxen return to Sunagakure and tell the Kazekage of what happened; it was easier to hide with two people than three and two oxen.

"It's getting late" commented the young brown haired girl as they entered the forest of Konoha. "We should set up camp before the sun sets" The blond brat turned visibly pale at the words; and her father didn't look any better. "Camp? As in out here? In the woods?" right on cue a wolf howl filled the air as the brunette smirked at the brats words. "Yeah. Out here. In the **forest**." The blond frowned at the kunoichi's mocking tone. _I know it's a forest! _She thought bitterly as she took her father's hand. "Father, surely we aren't to sleep out here are we?"

His weary gray eyes also showed fear as he turned to look at the over sized cat of a shinobi. Kankurou nodded his head "We didn't make much progress after the, um attack. We were lucky to get inside the Land of Fires borders before nightfall as it is. It's not safe to travel at night and the nearest Inn is at least another hour's walk form here." The old man pulled at his thin blond hair and nodded in understandment. "I see" was all he said as he sat down on a nearby log.

The blond was left shocked and could do nothing but gape like a fish at her father. She turned to the shinobi to find them setting a small camp. "(f/n) can you go get some logs?" (f/n) nodded in the general direction of Kankurou before setting of into the forest to look for firewood. She hadn't walked long before the sound of a breaking twig filled the air. Out of instinct, she reached down for her kunai which were strapped securely to her left leg.

Another sound, one of a grunt, was heard closer to her left now. She gently placed the already collected logs on the ground so to not warn her attacker that she knew of his or hers presence. Then as the sound of feet hitting wood was heard no more than ten feet away she took a defensive pose just as a kunai impaled itself next on the tree to her right. She smelled the metallic of her blood where the kunai had slightly grazed her darkened cheek.

She looked in the direction the weapon had come from. _There're no chakras… _She told herself as she scanned the surrounding area. An ear bleeding screech sounded of from the direction of the camp site. "Shit!" the kunoichi quickly turned on her heal and ran to were her companions rested. Another scream pierced the night air, louder this time and followed by the mutterings of someone's name.

_Kankurou! _Thought (f/n) as she broke through the last of the trees and into the clearing. Karine was crying over the body of what seemed to be her father as Kankurou stood defensibly in front off them fighting of the rouge ninja they had seen earlier in the day. Blood trickled down his left arm which fell limply at his side. He gave another yell as he single handedly tried to control all three of his puppets. (F/n) ran up behind the almost invisible ninja and jumped into a kick. It connected with Kankurou's chin as the ninja turned to water.

"A water clone!" she said with surprise as she helped the injured cat to his feet. "Damn it (f/n). Must you kick so hard?" she only gave him a sympathetic glance before standing defensibly in front of him eyeing the true ninja. "What do you want?" she growled as she reached behind to her weapons pouch for a shuriken. The ninja just smirked and turned to water once more leaving them alone.

"Argh" said Kankurou as he collapsed to the ground holding his injured arm. (F/n) gave one last look around the surrounding areas before kneeling down next to her partner. "Take of your shirt" she said. Kankurou managed to smirk through the pain "Well if you wanted me that much you could have just asked…" she frowned at his words and said a silent prayer to the night sky for hiding her slight blush.

He obliged to her request; wincing when the shirt scraped the wound. "Damn" muttered (f/n) as she took in the depth of the wound. She did a couple of hand signs and channeled her chakra into them. A green glow emitted from them as she placed them on his bicep and the wound started to close slightly. "That's all I can do" she removed her bloodied hands from his incredibly defined arm and wiped them on them grass.

She looked at the wound closely in the moonlight. "Do we have any bandages?" the shinobi shook his head 'no' "They were in the carriage…" she nodded in understandment and grabbed his shirt. She ripped of a few pieces of it with her teeth as the puppet master gave her a questioning look. "We need bandages" she said as she started to wrap them tightly around his upper arm. "I know. I was just hopping you'd get them from your shirt." He smirked and she 'accidentally' made the knot to the makeshift bandages a little too hard.

"I was only kidding" he pouted as she walked around him to the old man. She quickly checked his pulse and breathing. "His fine, just unconscious" she said to the sobbing girl. She nodded and continued to cradle her father's head in her lap. Kankurou came up behind her and started talking "Go to sleep I'll-" she caught the kitty off. "No. You're more tired than I am. I'll take the first shift" he gave a reluctant nod and lay down close to the body of the fast asleep brat and her father.

"(f/n)" he whispered "Yeah?" she looked down at him from the tree in which she now sat in "Thanks" she was taken by surprise. "Your welcome" she stuttered slightly. Kankurou shook his head "Let me finish" she smiled "ok" she said barely audible "Thanks for not giving up on me" she looked down at him with a questioning look to find he had already drifted back to sleep. "I'd never give up on you" she said, more to herself than the man. She looked up at the starts; missing as Kankurou replied a silent 'me neither'.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**This chapter is dedicated to Lynto**

The last day in track to Konoha was hurried. Both guests were carried through the remaining forest and the small group only stopped to rest when absolutely necessary. The high lord, Chyoyi, did not come about till the middle of the day. "Wha- what happened?" he stuttered, surprised by the tree's that were blurring past him. "Father!" shrieked Karine in happiness from the kunoichi's back "You're alive!" Said kunoichi growled and muttered that she had already told the brat her father would be fine.

"Kankurou" said (f/n). The puppet master turned his sight to the brown haired girl that had stopped on the branch before his. "Let's take a break" he gave a happy nod and quickly jumped down. "Finally" he said while stretching his sore muscles. The chakra seer rolled her eyes at his behavior while letting down the blonde brat. "Father! You're alright" Karine ran straight to her father's side and threw her arms around his neck.

_Maybe, just maybe, she's not so bad… _thought (f/n) as she watched the girl. "I don't know what I would have done!" continued the girl "If you hadn't been there to pay for everything! How would I have survived with your money?!" Kankurou put a restraining hand on (f/n)'s shoulder as the happiness in the old man's eyes faded away. "Stupid brat" she hissed and Kankurou gave a nod of acknowledgment.

"We'll eat and then continue. We don't want to get in that ninja's way again" said Kankurou to the high lord "Or him in ours" finished (f/n). The lord nodded and took a piece of bread from Kankurou as Karine mimicked. "How much longer?" her voice sounding strained and tired. (f/n) looked over at the blond girl and smirked inwardly "Since the last time you asked five minutes ago?" her voice dripped with sarcasm as fake smile adorned her face. Karine could do nothing but pout as her face flushed with embarrassment and Kankurou choked back a laugh.

They finished lunch quickly and the old man boarded Kankurou's back again. It wasn't long till they saw the gate's of Konoha ahead. (F/n) stopped in front and let the girl she'd been carrying fall to the group with a 'thud' "Ow" hissed Karine and glared up at the seventeen year-old as Kankurou and her father landed next to them. "(f/n); you're not supposed to hurt the mission…" started the kitty cat "Yeah, yeah. Oi Izumo, Kotetsu!" said guards looked up from their table.

"Yo (l/n)-chan, Kankurou-kun. What brings you to Konoha?" (f/n) smiled at the porcupine head man and at his silent partner before venturing up to the table. "Escorts; we need to go to the Hokage right away." Izumo looked through his one visible eye at Chyoyi-sama and at Karine before giving the shinobi a nod, telling them it was fine to enter the great village. With another smile, (f/n) led the group through Konoha's busy streets all the way to the red tower in the middle.

"Come in" yelled Tsunade as a hard knock was heard upon her wooden doors. In come a group of four; two ninja's and two of what seemed to be high class. "Hokage-sama" said both ninja's and the elderly man with a bow, the earlier a deeper one. Tsunade looked at the platinum blonde that stood in the doorway fiddling with the inexistence dirt under her manicured nails and send a condolence glance to the three bowing figures.

"I'm gonna take a guess and say that you are Chyoyi-sama and that is your daughter Karine?" the high lord nodded and stood up right. "I see, you where to be here yesterday." Kankurou cut in and explained of the rouge ninja "Dressed completely in black with a plain silver mask?" All four nodded "One of them wouldn't be a water user for any reason?" (f/n) stepped forward "Yes, and the other one was an earth user." Tsunade turned her icy gaze to the chakra seer "Was?" this time Kankurou was the one to reply "I killed him!"

Tsunade's face turned into shock and both shinobi's exchanged a nervous glance. "You killed him?" her fingers intertwined with her blonde hair "Please tell me you didn't bury him" she looked up at them with pleading eyes. "Well… if you're asking if we gave him a proper funeral, then no. He burned with the explosion; we buried what was left in some shallow sand." "Damn it!" Chyoyi-sama looked shocked as the elder woman turned her back to them. Tsunade asked for Chyoyi and Karine to leave the room before continuing the conversation with the two startled ninja.

"Those ninja's have been killing many high lords around here. No matter how many times we killed the three they would always return." "Three?" asked (f/n). The Hokage glanced at the girl briefly before returning her gaze to the rooftops of the nearby buildings. "We did a test. We caught the third one and buried him, always with guards. On the third day… he revived."

Both ninja's froze in shock as did Chyoyi and Karine who heard the whole conversation form the other side of the door. "It's been two days" started a frozen cat "and tomorrow he'll return" finished (f/n). "How?" Said Chyoyi as he stepped back into the room he had tried to get out off earlier. "How did you kill the third one?" The Hokage looked at him, deciding if she should involve the civilian. "We burned him Left nothing to bury. Not even a hair."

"Karine! It is so since to finally meet my future wife. And what a beauty she is!" The strawberry haired boy laughed as he held Karine's hands in his. From the look on her face anyone could tell that she already disliked her betroth. "And the ninja's who kept her safe for me this whole journey! Please come in for food and merriment as we celebrate the arrival of my new wife!" said ninja's took a step back and declined the offer "We have stuff to do before we return to the Sand tomorrow. We simply don't have the time."

In truth neither of them wanted to spend more time in the presence of the spoiled brat or her overly eager fiancé. "Some other time? I must thank you!" Lying through their pearly whites the shinobi agreed; with a final farewell to the high lord and his brat, err daughter; they walked away towards the ramen shop.

"Finally! That brat is gone!" Kankurou laughed at (f/n) reaction. "She wasn't that bad…" "Says the man who she wanted to rape…" Kankurou scowled "She didn't want to rape me! It was my charm and good looks that attracted her to me!" (F/n) smirked "Yes that was it my dear Kankurou. Perhaps next time the girl will look past that at your non-existent brain" (f/n) laughed as Kankurou's face turned red with anger.

The wind shifted, and with it came the smell of ink. The sand ninja's turned towards the smell just as a black shuriken flew towards them. With a jump to the side it was safely avoided; but another fleet of shuriken sailed through the air and implanted themselves where the ninjas had been just seconds ago. "What the?" a kunai land next to (f/n) on the branch she currently occupied. An explosive note caught fire and the explosion rang in Kankurou's ears as he watched her body sail through the silent air and hit a nearby building.

With a grunt she slid to the ground, unable to move. Her vision was blurry surrounded by black dots and she could barely feel her body. Hard as she tried her arms and legs wouldn't respond as her brain told her to move from the dangerous area. She was faintly aware of the shouts coming from Kankurou as he defended her weakened body from the unknown attacker.

The sweet smell of strawberry's filled the air as a familiar tuff of pink hair landed in between Kankurou and the ink dogs. "Sakura!" Kankurou shouted; both happy and surprised. Sakura took one look at (f/n) unconscious body and then at the direction of her friend who had caused the damage to her. "Sai!" yelled an angry doctor "What are you doing?!"

Said ninja jumped down from a nearby building and stared at his partner "They are not from here. They may be enemies." Sakura mumbled a string of curses as she raced to the body of the brown haired kunoichi. "Healing jutsu" she muttered in between as a green glow emitted from her pale palms. (F/n) felt the warmth of the chakra on her face were she also felt a wet trail of blood flowing from an open wound.

Kankurou knelt next to the body of the chakra seer and held her limp hand as the medical nin worked on (f/n); he send a glare in the direction of the boy who looked quite like the Uchiha who had abandoned the village three years past. Same black hair, same emotionless face and cold black eyes. "Who are you?" venom dripped from his words "Sai" replied the boy. "Why did you do this?" he was quickly becoming angrier "Because, I did not know if you were a threat or not. I can now see that you are friends of Sakura-chan." He gave the cat his infamous smile and flinched as a growl escaped the throat of the young puppet master.

_He must feel deeply for this girl… _thought the artist as he stood safely ten feet back. _If only Naruto were here. He would explain this unknown emotion to me. _Sakura sighed in relief as (f/n) first wounds closed and the kunoichi squinted her eyes against the brightness of the setting sun "You're lucky I was looking for Sai when I was. If not it could have been worse." (F/n) pushed herself off the cold pavement with the help of Kankurou and turned towards her good friend. "Yeah, I guess I am!" she smiled smugly "But that's just me right? (f/n) good luck."

Sakura laughed politely but stopped as she followed (f/n)'s gaze to Sai. "This is Sai" she pointed towards the ink user "He's new. Doesn't know much of the world. Kinda like a new born baby." She joked trying to lighten the ominous feeling in the air. "He's never met anyone form the Sand as far as I know. He didn't mean it; it's the way he was raised…" Sai nodded in confirmation of Sakura's words; and lucky for him (f/n) was too tired to purse and empty fight. Kankurou was not.

"And that gives you the right to almost kill someone?!" (f/n) put a restraining arm on Kankurou's shoulder, much like the one he'd used the last four day's whenever she had become angry at the brat. "Kankurou" he looked down at her reluctantly, not wanting to take his glare from the emotionless boy "I'm tired; let's go to the hotel." He nodded stiffly and scooped her up in his arms against her protests. "I would go to the hospital. It'll be easier to check your wounds that way-" (F/n) cut off the rambling girl with her hand.

"I'm fine. I just need rest, I'll be better tomorrow you'll see." Sakura stepped back defeated and left along with Sai after and awkward good-bye.


End file.
